BMW Lead is Sick of People Comparing New 3 Series to Older Models
Bimmer overlord had strong words during a Motoring interview for those using the E46 CSL as the ultimate benchmark.
While speaking at Paris motor show last week, the Australian branch of Motoring is reporting on remarks from BMW’s development chief Klaus Frohlich‘s about the upcoming generation of 3 Series. With the seventh generation on the way in 2019, Frohlich is concerned with the inevitable comparisons it’ll draw with the legendary E46 chassis from the turn of the century. He tells Motoring, “It has to beat everybody in the segment in driving dynamics because all the Australian, U.K. and American journalists say ‘ooh the E46 CSL was the last real 3 Series,” and concluding with the statement, “I do not want to hear that s*%^ anymore.”
That’s a strong statement, and not very PR friendly, but we understand his point. The E46 M3 CSL was the best performance car BMW had made at that point in time. However, the CSL was a homologation special model that established itself up against the motorsport giants of the time. As a balance of the luxury and performance the defines the 3 Series, the CSL had oodles of performance, but the ride was bumpy as hell and it came with very few even basic creature comforts.
To claim the E46 CSL is the last “real” 3 Series is absurd, and despite our love of the more common non-homologation E46 M3, it’s just as absurd to claim that as the last real 3 Series. As a look back to how cars were a more raw experience in terms of driving, a few of us here at 5series drive E46 BMWs and enjoy the hell out of them. But, the 3 Series has evolved over the past 20 years on par with BMW’s ethos towards building performance orientated luxury vehicles. It is the meat of BMW’s sales, and has rarely disappointed unless you look back through rose tinted spectacles and don’t acknowledge that technology, legislation, and safety technology has moved on.
The reality is that a current BMW F80 M3 will smoke an E46 CSL in any theatre you pick out, and then the F80 is the car you’ll choose to go to work and back in the next day. For more accurate comparison, as the 3 Series is no longer a compact car in the sense it was at the turn of the century, the M2 CS is one of BMW’s modern performance wonders and includes the unforgiving suspension anyone that has driven an E46 CSL will feel at home with, albeit only on the track or for short journeys on the road. The M2 is the true spiritual successor to the E46 M3 and infused with the same character traits. It’s a small, simple coupe that’s aggressive on the outside and calm on the inside and an absolute delight for the long route home.
It truly is time to put the E46 comparisons with the modern 3 Series to bed, as it has evolved and morphed into something that keeps with the times but is still firmly in the BMW sweet spot. Moving forward, we definitely need to manage our expectations of the 3 Series and base them on the now, and not the past.
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